Prey till the End (The Endangered Series Book 3)

by S. L. Eaves

  “None,” I lie.

  “I dunno, maybe you’re onto something. Sounds pretty dull and assimilation comes with its own risks…but I get that you needed a change after everything.”

  “It’s helped repair what I viewed as a fractured existence.”

  “So how’d Vega convince you to come back?”

  I think about Striden. Again. And again resist the urge to spill the truth.

  “You’re kidding, right? You guys needed my help, so I’m here. Not because it’s what Catch would want, this time around it’s what I wanted.”

  It comes out more confident than I expected.

  Crina smiles. “Good. So what’s the next move? Did they tell you what they wanted from us?”

  The door creaks and Xan appears in its frame.

  “Thought I heard voices coming from here.” Xan enters and swats at a cobweb. “Damn we really should do more to keep up with this place.”

  If a person were to describe what they’d envision a female vampire to look like; Crina, with her jet black hair and Romanian accent, easily fits the mold. Xan on the other hand, with his curly blonde locks and boyish figure couldn’t look less the part…well, aside from the paleness, he's got that covered. And he shares our grey eyes. But that’s where the similarities end. Yet he and Crina share the type of brother and sister bond that rivals most biological siblings.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but I found something I think you should see.” He holds up a thin glass screen.

  “Join us,” Crina points at an empty chair resting in the far corner. Xan ignores it and walks over, setting the screen next to the chess set between us. He taps it to life and a video recording plays. When the news story ends he taps it off.

  “Fourteen dead. Bite marks on their necks. It’s all over the news back in the states. This could be why the Purebloods are on the attack.”

  Xan folds his arms as he looks down at us waiting for our response.

  “Piled in that basement like that…they’ll write it off as a serial killer,” Crina says skeptically. “Some psycho who thinks he’s Dracula.”

  “I don’t care what the humans rationalize it as. My concern is what Purebloods are going to do with this news? We just got out. I don’t want them retaliating again.”

  Xan picks up the screen and taps it nervously against the edge of the table.

  “They already knew about those deaths.” It comes out as a whisper. They both look at me with raised eyebrows.

  “If we don’t stop the vampires behind that it’ll be us that pays the price,” I continue.

  “Wait. A vampire is responsible for those deaths? That’s what they told you in there?” Crina's expression darkens.

  In so many words, yes. I feel like they are still with me, in my head. Feeding me my lines.

  It’s time I stop stalling.

  “Let’s all convene in the control room at sundown. I want everyone to hear what I have to say.”

  “We don’t need to wait till sundown, I’ll get Rex right now and we can figure this out,” Crina says, standing up.

  “I know, but I want to wait till Quinn and Dade get here.”

  “They’re coming home?!” All the anxiety leaves Xan’s face.

  “Vega called them. We weren’t sure if they’d been captured too. They’re flying in from somewhere in South America…should be here after dark.”

  “That’s great news.” Crina nods. “I’m relieved they’re alright. I feel bad for not reaching out first chance I had.”

  “So wait, where’s Vega then? He’s coming too?” Xan scratches his head.

  Standing as I pick up a book that caught my eye earlier.

  “Haven’t a clue. You hear from him, tell him I need to speak to him.”

  I head for the door. Xan gestures at the book.

  “You read Slovincian?”

  “Slo what?”

  “It’s Slavic, dead language,” he smiles. I look at the book and I can read the title plain as day. It looks like English to me.

  “Oh right, good call,” I stammer, setting it down as a make a hasty exit.

  Chapter 10

  I hear the sound of glass clinking behind the door as I pass what I assume to be Rex's room. The second and third floors of the mansion contain mostly living quarters. Many of the rooms have been converted into apartments; walls knocked down, small kitchenettes installed with fridges for blood, living rooms, bathrooms; the basics. The doors operate with key cards. A veritable hotel for the undead. It’s been so long since I've last set foot in these hallways I don’t know which rooms belong to who, but process of elimination tells me the shuffling I’m hearing behind the door is Rex.

  Which means he'd taken up residence in a room down the hall from mine. A room I once shared with Catch. A room I’m afraid to go into.

  I knock on Rex’s door.

  “Come in,” he says without the slightest hesitation.

  The door's unlocked. I push it open and lean against the frame. He’s likely expecting Crina, though she might not have bothered to knock. Either way I want to give him a chance to change his mind.

  “Hey Rex,” I smile warmly.

  He’s standing by his fridge in a white tank top and sweatpants. A silver chain with dog tags hangs from his neck. The tags are tucked under his shirt, but I know what they say. He’s an Army vet and his time serving shows as much in his character as it does in the memories around his neck. It doesn't hurt how he looks in a tank top either. His arms are the size of tree trunks and I resist the urge to run into them. His eyes are full of sleep as he sets down a glass of blood and greets me with a groggy smile.

  “Lori, come in, please.” His voice is welcoming but guarded. Without asking, he gets a pint glass from the shelf and fills it with blood. He slides it to the opposite side of the counter. I walk over to join him in the kitchen.

  “Cheers,” he says, holding up his glass. “To freedom.”

  I obligingly hold up my glass. Ironically, right now I'm not feeling very free. We drink in silence for a moment. The synthetic blood isn’t as sweet as the real thing, but it’s a damn fine substitute.

  “Excellent job with the blood, really impressive.” Not sure where to start, I end up sputtering out some small talk to break the silence.

  “Thanks. We’ve made good use of the research we stole from Trion. It’s made life easier, so to speak.”

  “How's life in the mansion been treating you?”

  He raises his shoulders indifferently. “Years have had their ups and downs. Overall hanging here with the others has been better than the quasi-nomad lifestyle I had trekking around the globe with Vega. This place feels like home, you know?”

  It’s been both a home and a prison for me, but I nod all the same.

  He continues, “Where have you been hanging your hat all this time? Have we switched places, are you the nomad now?”

  Laughing, I reply, “Not quite. I bought an apartment in L.A. Haven’t done much traveling, I don’t have the resources someone like Vega has to move around effortlessly. Los Angeles, with its culture built on escapism and facades, makes it is easy to blend.”

  “Good point, I can see that town fitting in well with our kind.”

  “Little too well apparently.”

  That slips out.

  “I don’t follow.” Confusion fills his eyes.

  “Come to the control room shortly after sundown. I want to bring everyone up to speed on what’s been going on.”

  “So you are able to shed some light on why the Purebloods were holding us captive?”

  “How much contact have you had with Vega?” I ask.

  Puzzled, he considers. “He checks in weekly. Or monthly. Monthly, I guess…I’m bad with time. But he hasn’t been by here in quite some time though. I mean before the attack. No falling out or anything, just that he’s a drifter. I knew when I chose to stay here we’d go our separate ways. At least for now. Why?”

  “He’s the one who found me and brought m
e to Romania. I’m trying to figure out what his role is in all this nonsense with the other Purebloods.”

  He shakes his head in protest before I can elaborate further. “Has to be opposing them. He would never betray us. I mean he got you to help break us out, right? Not turn you in.”

  “Right…yeah, just curious.”

  “He may be one of them but it doesn’t mean he shares their beliefs. No way he’s responsible for their attack.”

  I set down the empty glass. He's right. Their disdain for him radiated through me in the temple. It's clouding my judgement.

  “If I haven't said it already, it's good to see you again Rex. I’m sorry I let so much time pass,” I kiss him on the cheek, lingering for a little too long.

  “Good to see you too,” I hear him whisper as the door closes behind me.

  ***

  I’d left my duffle bag in the study off the foyer. I notice it vibrating on the oversized conference table that fills the room as I enter. After a few minutes of rummaging through it I find my cell phone. Please be Vega.

  Several missed calls from a number I don’t know. And a text: It’s Hailey. Call me.

  She picks up on the second ring.

  “Hey, good you’re up, you see the news?”

  “Hey umm…” The fourteen dead? Did that happen in L.A.? I decide to play dumb. “No. What’s up?”

  “They found two bodies last night in the VIP room of a nightclub. One of those private reservations-only type of rooms. A couple went in, then an employee discovered them a few hours later drained of blood. Turn on the morning news. It would be the lead story if it weren’t for the pile of bodies they discovered outside Las Vegas overnight. People are already speculating: cults, serial killer, all kinds of theories. The police are being vague, but because so many people have posted photos, the gory details have leaked. True or not, they're enough to get people thinking vampires or killers pretending to be.”

  “Damn. That’s alarmingly brazen. Do you think they’re linked? Like is there any indication of timeline? It could be the same vampire.”

  It’s not. This is the work of multiple vampires. This is escalating quickly.

  “Can you come with me to hunt tonight? Find the vampire or vampires that did this?”

  I sigh. She goes it alone it won’t end well.

  “I’m uh – out of town at the moment, but I can get back into L.A. later tonight. Will you wait till I can join you?”

  “How late?”

  I’m doing quick math in my head, it’s still morning there. I board a flight by eight or nine here I can get to California shortly after sundown. That’s doable. If I can get a plane.

  “Not late. I’ll call you when I’m back in town.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  I hang up and scroll through my contacts to find the number Vega gave me and hit dial. After a moment a “This number is no longer in service” prompt plays. Worth a try.

  Chapter 11

  I'm perched on the front steps of the mansion making short work of a pack of cigarettes when I see two figures approaching. At first it's just their silhouettes shaded from the moonlight by the rows of immense Alder trees that line the driveway; one silhouette is slender and petite, the other tall and boxey, his long slow strides on pace with his companion's quick energetic hops. Dade and Quinn have arrived.

  Brushing off my jeans, I stand to greet them. Their pace quickens when they see me and moments later I'm hugging both of them, disappearing in Dade's giant embrace.

  “Took you long enough,” I jest.

  Quinn shoves me playfully. “You're one to talk. Where the hell have you been?”

  “Are the others okay?” Dade is already opening the door as he pushes past us, understandably anxious.

  “Yeah, well...for the most part...Vega took me to Romania last night.” I follow him in, not sure where to begin.

  “He didn't.” Quinn stands in the doorway. “He took you to the Purebloods? He crazy?”

  “Yes...to both possibly. Come in, I'll let the others know you're here. We'll bring you up to speed.”

  Minutes later we're standing in the control room, postures stiff as we circle around telling our various accounts of the events that transpired over the past week. I'm tense, sitting on a table off to the side, feet tapping the seat of a chair, hands gripping its back so tensely I can see knuckle bones through my fake tan.

  I've been here before. When I asked for help dealing with a human problem in Alaska. To say it didn't go well would be a massive understatement. The mercy granted by the vampires in this room is the only reason I survived the ordeal. A main factor in that mess involved being wrongly accused of hunting and killing vampires. Now I sit here about to tell them that's exactly what I plan on doing. If there's a better way to break this news, I'd be all for it.

  I don't want to sell them on hunting their own kind. I just need to let them know why they were attacked in the first place and why we can't sit back and be complacent while rogue vampires destroy the delicate balance we've worked so hard, some of them for centuries, to preserve.

  “Where's Vega?” Quinn's question snaps me back to attention.

  “That's what I'd like to know. When we emerged from the caverns he was gone,” I explain.

  “When we spoke on the phone you were suspicious of his motives?” Quinn continues.

  I nod, “Still am. He's one of them. How could I not be? Sure we have history and he's mostly been an ally, but if time has told us anything we have to be careful who we trust. While I personally don't believe he's our enemy, I do feel like he's not above using us. And there's a lot he hasn't told us. If anyone here knows how to get ahold of him or Malik please do.”

  Collective shrug from the group.

  “I'll make some calls,” Rex offers.

  “You know what I want you to tell us.” Crina stops pacing the room and folds her arms. “What transpired in that room before we found you? What did you exchange for our freedom?”

  I rake my knuckles across the back of the chair.

  “Xan will you play that news story?” I figure visual aids might help convey this message better. He obliges.

  “And this is our problem how, exactly?” Quinn is first to turn away from the screen, looking miffed.

  “It's the answer to why the Purebloods are lashing out. There's been a surge of vampire activity. Humans are being attacked on a nightly basis. It's getting exponentially worse. Los Angeles has had at least three or four vampires openly hunting humans in recent months, leaving bodies with bite marks lying around. And where did the news story originate from?” I look to Xan.

  “Henderson, Nevada,” he responds, not missing a beat. “And I did some digging, there's a few police reports in the area with the same M.O.”

  “That violates Pureblood law.” Dade, who has a very black and white view of the world, is quick to point out the so-called rulebook governing our kind. “Anything that risks exposure of our kind isn't going to sit well with them. They will terminate the vampires responsible. It's traitorous.”

  “Still, we had nothing to do with those deaths. We didn't even turn the ones responsible, there's absolutely no ties to them.” Crina looks back to me for an explanation.

  “They know. That’s why we’re all still standing here. Well, initially, they may have suspected one of us to be responsible...”

  “Who?” Dade looks around the room.

  “Lori,” Xan mumbles, looking up from his computer screen. “She resides in the states. She's got a reputation for disregarding our laws.”

  All eyes return to me. I nod.

  “When I was in the temple, they drank my blood. I've been absolved. But they want us to find and kill the vampires responsible or they will eliminate us all, they made that abundantly clear.” I sigh, “But the last thing I'm going to do is stand here and ask you to hunt down your own kind. The irony of this situation is not lost on me.”

  Xan gives a coarse laugh. “Of all the vampires to bre
ak this news to us, it would be you wouldn't it? But in all seriousness, the judge and jury has spoken in this case, these vampires are putting us all in danger. The Purebloods have declared them traitors, we are not only free to eliminate them, it’s our responsibility. End of story. It's virtually the same scenario as the ones that were working with the wolves during the war. This time they’re not showing up at our doorstep, but they pose an imminent threat and we will deal with them. It’s what we do.”

  Xan looks around the room for reassurance. He doesn’t get the reaction he was hoping for. More like a room of reticent head scratching and shoe gazing.

  “But what assurance do we have that the Purebloods aren't going to come after us again?” Crina is skeptical, which I expected.

  “We don't,” I answer honestly, “The most that's been conveyed to me is that they'll consider things going back to the status quo. Frankly, I think they need us more than they'll admit.”

  “Plus, we're sitting ducks here,” Quinn adds. “Both Purebloods and other vampires know about this location. If their malice extends past humans, those vampires can find this mansion fairly easily. No one here is obligated to go overseas, but we should definitely find another place of refuge. At least for the time being.”

  Rex nods. “I packed up my things today. I don't want to stay here after the attack anyways. And I want to help.”

  He looks at Crina as he says it, his eyes beg her to do the same.

  “Yeah we agree on that much, at least.” Crina has resumed pacing. “We let nomadic vampires crash here all the time. They know the rules, they know which side we're on. If any one of them is behind the attacks, they would already consider us a threat. I want to find out who is responsible for this mess. That being said, I'm not going to run around with stakes killing vampires for the Purebloods when they’ve all but promised us the same fate. We've got no guaranteed protection in return. I’m not turning on my own and I'm not their servant, not after what they did to us.”

  “Fair point, but I'm starving for some action and I’ve got no gripes about killing killers - wolf, vampire, or otherwise.”